Mullica/EHC Cemetery Theft Indictments

A woman accused of stealing more than 200 metal pipes and railings and marble statues and columns from cemeteries in Atlantic County will appear in court on May 2.

Blair Drinkhouse, 27, of Egg Harbor Township, will appear at 8:45 a.m. before Judge Donna Taylor.

She is charged with theft from grave sites of headstones or headstone markers as well as theft by unlawful taking, criminal mischief for grave tampering and conspiracy.

According to police, Drinkhouse and her cousin, Jonathan Ferris, 40, of Galloway Township, stole from cemeteries in Pleasantville, Galloway Township and the Egg Harbor City cemetery in Mullica Township. 

Ferris was already arraigned on the same charges earlier this month.

Ferris pleaded not guilty and will be represented in future proceedings by public defender Nellie Marquez.

Bruce A. Dooley, the manager of Elwood Antiques in Mullica Township, also was indicted earlier this month because he allegedly either knew or probably believed he received property stolen from the Egg Harbor City cemetery, according to the indictment.

Dooley pleaded not guilty and will be represented in future proceedings by attorney Frederick J. De Clement of Hammonton, according to court records.

Ferris and Dooley are scheduled to be back in court on May 30, according to court records.

Mullica Township police originally arrested Ferris, Drinkhouse and Dooley in September.

The stolen items were sold to Dooley, said police Capt. Brian Zeck of the Mullica Township Police Department last year. The metal poles could be hundreds of years old, but some of the items were new, Zeck said.

Zeck said more than 40 of the victims were in Mullica Township, but Meg Steeb, the Egg Harbor City secretary, said Monday that all the pieces did not belong to her cemetery.

The Egg Harbor City cemetery received its grave pieces back from the police after they were recovered.

Cemetery caretaker Wayne Mangold has been working diligently to put the stolen pieces back on their proper graves, especially now that the weather is warmer, Steeb said.

Ferris and Drinkhouse had come to see Dooley at least 30 times between July and September and brought a few times with them each time, said Dooley told The Press last year.

Dooley estimated last year that he paid about $4,000 for the cemetery items. He said he had dozens of people interested in buying pieces last summer, but he did not sell any of the individual pieces because he was waiting to acquire the entire collection.

Nine photos with article.  Click arrow at upper rt hand corner of photo 

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/woman-accused-of-stripping-atlantic-county-cemeteries-to-appear-in/article_055beab4-f813-5487-b404-7bd06deda099.html

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